The layout is set on the fictional island of New Gelderland, several hundred miles east of South Africa. Originally a Dutch colony, the island was taken by the British in the 19th century and served as an important naval base until after the Second World War. In the early 20th century, a 2’6” gauge railway was built to connect the main port and town on the island, Port Canning, to other smaller towns on the island, including the small military base at Fort Whiting. Locomotives were provided by a number of British builders, including Hunslet, Kitson, Nasmyth-Wilson, as well as American builders such as Baldwin. In reality, the layout was built to run a collection of colonial-style 009 stock, and is based on the Mid Illovo branch on the South African 2ft gauge lines in Natal.